5 Nations Named ‘Climate Criminals’

The ecological group Greenpeace has branded five countries “climate criminals,” accusing them of preventing an effective response to the threat of global warming.

The group accused the United States, the Soviet Union, Britain, Japan and Saudi Arabia of resisting action at a Geneva meeting to curb gas emissions believed to cause global warming, to protect their own output or consumption of fossil fuels.

The attitude of the five was that of a driver racing through mist toward a cliff, said Jeremy Leggett, science director of Greenpeace in Britain.

“Some countries, like the U.S., want to increase the speed of the car, others like (European Community) members want to maintain its speed, while a few, like Germany, are taking their foot off the accelerator,” he added.